Daring Fireball: Apple Silicon Is An Inconvenient Truth

[XboxEvolved]

An interesting quick read about the fact that journalists are now more hesitant to compare the Apple silicon Macs to their PC counterparts.

It reminds me of back in the day when they had a bit of a hard time comparing the PPC Macs to Wintel Macs, except now there is actually a lot more software to do the actual comparisons, but they still didn't want to because having to admit just how much better they were back then, similar to now.

The only legit reason I can think of why they wouldn't want to directly compare them is due to them not currently able to natively run Windows.

 

[russell_314]

It’s funny you mention this because I just watched a YouTube video discussing the same thing. He talks about how PC manufacturer were scared when the M1 came out and didn’t want to compare their products but now they have gotten a little bit better.


As to why reviewers not comparing them I think that’s to do with they’re for a different market. I really don’t think many people go out looking for a Windows PC then decide oh I’m going to buy a Mac or vice versa. I think most people have decided what operating system they want to use then they go select the hardware that will run it.

I purchased a MacBook Air and even if there was significantly better hardware running Windows it wouldn’t have been in my consideration because I wanted macOS. When I bought my gaming desktop the same was true. If Apple had this outstanding desktop that only ran macOS I wouldn’t have considered it.

 

[XboxEvolved]

It’s funny you mention this because I just watched a YouTube video discussing the same thing. He talks about how PC manufacturer were scared when the M1 came out and didn’t want to compare their products but now they have gotten a little bit better.


As to why reviewers not comparing them I think that’s to do with they’re for a different market. I really don’t think many people go out looking for a Windows PC then decide oh I’m going to buy a Mac or vice versa. I think most people have decided what operating system they want to use then they go select the hardware that will run it.

I purchased a MacBook Air and even if there was significantly better hardware running Windows it wouldn’t have been in my consideration because I wanted macOS. When I bought my gaming desktop the same was true. If Apple had this outstanding desktop that only ran macOS I wouldn’t have considered it.

Well the point the article I posted was trying to make is that before a lot of these publications would make direct comparisons with the MacBooks because all of these machines are supposed to be the best in class.

 

[L-5Jazzman]

Wirecutter’s best laptop for photo/video editing is the MBP 16”. Seems reasonable to me.

 

[pshufd]

It’s funny you mention this because I just watched a YouTube video discussing the same thing. He talks about how PC manufacturer were scared when the M1 came out and didn’t want to compare their products but now they have gotten a little bit better.


As to why reviewers not comparing them I think that’s to do with they’re for a different market. I really don’t think many people go out looking for a Windows PC then decide oh I’m going to buy a Mac or vice versa. I think most people have decided what operating system they want to use then they go select the hardware that will run it.

I purchased a MacBook Air and even if there was significantly better hardware running Windows it wouldn’t have been in my consideration because I wanted macOS. When I bought my gaming desktop the same was true. If Apple had this outstanding desktop that only ran macOS I wouldn’t have considered it.

Max Tech did a comparison review of the XPS 13 vs M2 Air.

Dave2D is a PC guy that also reviews Macs. Max Tech is an Apple guy that also reviews Windows systems sometimes. So it looks like a few more Windows companies sent Dave2D systems for, perhaps, a slightly friendlier reviewer. I think that Max Tech is a fair reviewer - he's certainly more than willing to hit Apple when something isn't up to snuff.

My opinion from seeing these two review articles, though, is that the M2 Air is still the one to beat. Dave2D didn't run performance benchmarks on those systems, just battery life. The battery life on the Windows systems comes close to the M2 Air but I'd guess that the M2 Air beat those Windows systems in performance and in a number of areas involving video editing.

One area where I notice the difference is with video editing between my M1 mini and the M1 Pro MacBook Pro is the ProRes encoder running. It was nice of Apple to include this in the base M2 chips.

 

[spiderman0616]

The industry is still reeling from Apple Silicon. I continue to believe that M1/M2 have been a MAJOR disruption that Apple's competitors have not figured out how to deal with yet, other than "Let's put our own SoC in 5 years that will compete with the current SoCs on the market!"

Honestly, I'm enjoying it. The backflips people are doing to try to paint Apple Silicon in a negative light are entertaining.

 

[DHagan4755]

 

[russell_314]

Max Tech did a comparison review of the XPS 13 vs M2 Air.

Dave2D is a PC guy that also reviews Macs. Max Tech is an Apple guy that also reviews Windows systems sometimes. So it looks like a few more Windows companies sent Dave2D systems for, perhaps, a slightly friendlier reviewer. I think that Max Tech is a fair reviewer - he's certainly more than willing to hit Apple when something isn't up to snuff.

My opinion from seeing these two review articles, though, is that the M2 Air is still the one to beat. Dave2D didn't run performance benchmarks on those systems, just battery life. The battery life on the Windows systems comes close to the M2 Air but I'd guess that the M2 Air beat those Windows systems in performance and in a number of areas involving video editing.

One area where I notice the difference is with video editing between my M1 mini and the M1 Pro MacBook Pro is the ProRes encoder running. It was nice of Apple to include this in the base M2 chips.

In my opinion Max tech is garbage. It’s a bunch of benchmarks on clickbait video titles without any context.

Yes people have compared them but when the M1 came out laptop manufacturers weren’t excited about sending out review samples to contact creators that we’re going to make a video comparing their Windows laptop to the M1 Mac.

Dave2D isn’t necessarily friendly but he’s going to give an honest review. The last video he did comparing the M2 Air to a bunch of Windows laptops showed some benchmarks and he gave his opinions about the laptops. I like that he seemed neutral in the sense he wasn’t overly excited about the Apple product versus the other products. It’s probably because he wants to remain neutral in the eyes of brands sending him review samples because if he seems like he just loves Apple or even another brand then they’re not going to send him review samples if he’s not going to give them a fair shot.

Although I find it entertaining and informative with him comparing Windows laptops to the MacBook I don’t think it’s very practical. People out shopping for a MacBook are likely shopping for it because of macOS. They want a Mac. Is the same way people shopping for a Windows laptop want Windows. I’m not saying some of those people couldn’t be swayed but I think it’s a very small percentage. Unless there’s this huge discrepancy with the hardware I think it will always be a small percentage. Of course if somehow one becomes much more powerful than the other than more people would be interested in that one

 

[spiderman0616]

In my opinion Max tech is garbage. It’s a bunch of benchmarks on clickbait video titles without any context.

Yes people have compared them but when the M1 came out laptop manufacturers weren’t excited about sending out review samples to contact creators that we’re going to make a video comparing their Windows laptop to the M1 Mac.

Dave2D isn’t necessarily friendly but he’s going to give an honest review. The last video he did comparing the M2 Air to a bunch of Windows laptops showed some benchmarks and he gave his opinions about the laptops. I like that he seemed neutral in the sense he wasn’t overly excited about the Apple product versus the other products. It’s probably because he wants to remain neutral in the eyes of brands sending him review samples because if he seems like he just loves Apple or even another brand then they’re not going to send him review samples if he’s not going to give them a fair shot.

Although I find it entertaining and informative with him comparing Windows laptops to the MacBook I don’t think it’s very practical. People out shopping for a MacBook are likely shopping for it because of macOS. They want a Mac. Is the same way people shopping for a Windows laptop want Windows. I’m not saying some of those people couldn’t be swayed but I think it’s a very small percentage. Unless there’s this huge discrepancy with the hardware I think it will always be a small percentage. Of course if somehow one becomes much more powerful than the other than more people would be interested in that one

I think a lot of people just stick with Windows because it’s what they know from work. Not a bad thing to go with what you know, but I no longer recommend it, due to being tired of being the family IT guy. These days I just say get a Mac or iPad.

 

[Traverse]

I really don’t think many people go out looking for a Windows PC then decide oh I’m going to buy a Mac or vice versa. I think most people have decided what operating system they want to use then they go select the hardware that will run it.

I suppose the landscape was different a decade ago, but this is why I found the Mac vs PC ads a bit odd. I just feel like the market really has a few broad groups of people: (1) professionals who know what hardware or OS they need, (2) consumers continuing to purchase what they know, (3) general users who could be persuaded by macOS tie-in to their main device (iPhone), (4) tech enthusiast crowd.

I really don't think there are THAT many people deliberating entire ecosystems on whim based on a chipset. I think general users have other priorities that guide their decisions and the Pro/enthusiast group already know what they want.

 

[spiderman0616]

I suppose the landscape was different a decade ago, but this is why I found the Mac vs PC ads a bit odd. I just feel like the market really has a few broad groups of people: (1) professionals who know what hardware or OS they need, (2) consumers continuing to purchase what they know, (3) general users who could be persuaded by macOS tie-in to their main device (iPhone), (4) tech enthusiast crowd.

I really don't think there are THAT many people deliberating entire ecosystems on whim based on a chipset. I think general users have other priorities that guide their decisions and the Pro/enthusiast group already know what they want.

I'm trying to get my mother in law to switch to a Mac mini. She is retired, has always used Windows, and has nothing but problems with it. She just won't do it, claiming she's too old to learn a new OS. I'm thinking about just buying her one and setting it up at her house so she can see the error of her ways.

 

[marstan]

I'm trying to get my mother in law to switch to a Mac mini. She is retired, has always used Windows, and has nothing but problems with it. She just won't do it, claiming she's too old to learn a new OS. I'm thinking about just buying her one and setting it up at her house so she can see the error of her ways.

She is not too old. Learning something new will be good for her brain.

 

[smoking monkey]

As to why reviewers not comparing them I think that’s to do with they’re for a different market. I really don’t think many people go out looking for a Windows PC then decide oh I’m going to buy a Mac or vice versa. I think most people have decided what operating system they want to use then they go select the hardware that will run it.

I think that is def true for people who know about computers or have a specific usage in mind, but for the everyday user, I honestly believe it's all about the price.

I just watched this in action. After recommending a Mac for a coworker over a windows machine (they must use an iPad for work and they use an iPhone for personal), they went for the Windows machine because it was several hundred dollars cheaper. Even though using a Mac would have made their work life easier. It was ALL about the money.

 

[Traverse]

I'm trying to get my mother in law to switch to a Mac mini. She is retired, has always used Windows, and has nothing but problems with it. She just won't do it, claiming she's too old to learn a new OS. I'm thinking about just buying her one and setting it up at her house so she can see the error of her ways.

I ended up getting my mother on a Mac mini from an old HP tower about seven years ago. I ultimately told her that unless she switches to a Mac I cannot be tech support for her as I simply didn't know Windows well-enough (granted it was a Vista machine, but boy was it buggy). That really left her with no choice so I bought and set one up and after about a week she realized she could do literally the same thing she was doing before.

 

[russell_314]

I think that is def true for people who know about computers or have a specific usage in mind, but for the everyday user, I honestly believe it's all about the price.

I just watched this in action. After recommending a Mac for a coworker over a windows machine (they must use an iPad for work and they use an iPhone for personal), they went for the Windows machine because it was several hundred dollars cheaper. Even though using a Mac would have made their work life easier. It was ALL about the money.

Well true if they’re budget conscious and just shopping for a computer. Apple will never be in that market because you can buy a Windows laptop for $250. If you want to spend more at about $500 you can get a fairly usable Windows laptop. Clearly the quality is not going to be the same but most users don’t notice the difference.

There are laptops that have similar quality to the MacBook and they have similar prices but at that point I think the customer knows what they want. That’s not someone out there looking for a “laptop” for basic use but rather someone who knows a little bit more and has specific wants. Apple does get somewhat of a student market but it seems to be younger college kids that can get the parents to buy it. They’ve heard from their friends about how good the MacBook is so they want one.

I bought my mom a MacBook Air probably 10 years ago and didn’t think much of it past that. I found out she loved that laptop but when the battery stopped working she bought a Microsoft surface to replace it. All she did was complain about it. I’m thinking well you knew a laptop that worked well for you but instead you bought something cheaper that was terrible. I’m not sure why she didn’t buy another MacBook. Maybe because she’s also familiar with Windows because of her desktop so she thought it would be good. I bought her another Air, the base M1 model and she absolutely loves it. It’s not like she couldn’t afford to buy a Mac herself so I don’t understand the logic.

Another story is I had a friend by a laptop and and I asked why she picked that one over others available. As someone who looks for computers based on all kinds of technical aspects I was curious what a normal non tech person does. The main reason she bought that laptop was because it was pink. The second reason was the price. She had zero knowledge of any specification of that laptop. Apple could attract that kind of customer if they made a plastic laptop that was stylish but the specs would drive the tech community crazy. I’d say it would have to be under $600 so obviously they would have to cut some serious corners. You’re not getting a 500 nits P3 display or quad speakers 😂😂

 

[OAG7]

I'm trying to get my mother in law to switch to a Mac mini. She is retired, has always used Windows, and has nothing but problems with it. She just won't do it, claiming she's too old to learn a new OS. I'm thinking about just buying her one and setting it up at her house so she can see the error of her ways.

I am almost 82 now and two years ago I decided to go back to apple after about 25 years of Dell (Intel) computers. I previously used Apple (Apple //e days) in my early 40's. She is no doubt fully capable of switching. Maybe tell her to just use both for a while. I just gifted my last Dell recently and now very happy using only a MBP as IPhone and a Apple Watch.

 

[spiderman0616]

I am almost 82 now and two years ago I decided to go back to apple after about 25 years of Dell (Intel) computers. I previously used Apple (Apple //e days) in my early 40's. She is no doubt fully capable of switching. Maybe tell her to just use both for a while. I just gifted my last Dell recently and now very happy using only a MBP as IPhone and a Apple Watch.

Don't worry--I'm still trying to wear her down. She's a smart lady--she'll come around eventually.